Is Allied Interstate Calling You?

Allied Interstate, LLC

Allied Interstate, LLC (Allied Interstate) is a third-party debt collector that provides accounts receivable, customer retention, and debt collection services to blue chip companies. Allied Interstate was founded in 1954 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is a subsidiary of iQor, Inc.

On its website, Allied Interstate published a consumer pledge. This pledge states that Allied Interstate will respond quickly to consumer requests, resolve issues fairly and with dignity, ensure privacy and security, and comply with consumer debt collection regulations.

In contrast to this consumer pledge, numerous complaints have been filed against Allied Interstate for its unfair, deceptive, and abusive debt collection practices.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a Government agency that is tasked with protecting consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices and taking action against companies that violate consumers’ rights. The CFPB has received 1,414 complaints against Allied Interstate. Consumers complain that Allied Interstate has engaged in the following illegal debt collection practices:

• Attempting to collect a debt that is not owed by the consumer;
• Attempting to collect a debt that has been paid;
• Harassing consumers by repeatedly and continuously calling; and
• Refusing to validate or provide proof of a debt.

In 2018, Allied Interstate reached a settlement agreement with eighteen (18) district attorneys in California in a case that involved numerous harassing phone calls. Allied Interstate was accused of excessively calling consumers, and in some cases, hundreds of times, calling the wrong person numerous times, and failing to cease communication after being told that they had contacted the wrong person.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (RFDCPA) prevent creditors and debt collectors from abusive and harassing debt collection practices. This includes calling consumers repeatedly or continuously with the intent to annoy, abuse or harass. Although federal and state law does not state the exact number of calls that would constitute harassment, there is a large volume of case law that interprets three (3) or more calls a day from the same debt collector to be harassing.

The FDCPA and RDCPA also regulate debt collectors’ communications with third parties. A debt collector is only permitted to contact a third party when the debt collector reasonably believes that person would have information regarding the consumer’s location or telephone number. More importantly, debt collectors are only permitted to contact a third party once. When a debt collector mistakenly contacts somebody other than the intended consumer, then the debt collector has effectively contacted a third party and is not permitted to continue to contact you.

As part of the settlement agreement, Allied Interstate agreed to cease certain practices including calling consumers at an unreasonable frequency, calling phone numbers that have been identified as wrong numbers, calling numbers after being requested to stop calling, and using robo-dialing technology to call consumers’ cell phones without their consent. Allied Interstate was also forced to pay a civil penalty of $9 million.

Creditors and debt collectors should be held accountable for these unethical and unlawful practices. If you are being harassed or subjected to any of these, deceptive, or abusive debt collection practices, it is time to hold Allied Interstate accountable. Please contact our office for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-800-219-3577.